The first light of dawn barely crept into the small, spartan quarters Echo and Rook had spent the night in. A sharp knock on their door broke the stillness, followed by the unmistakable sound of Sentinel and Gladiator’s voices.

“Get up,” Sentinel’s voice rang out through the door, calm and steady but with a no-nonsense edge. “It’s time to begin.”

Rook stirred first, his eyes snapping open as he sprang from his cot with surprising speed, despite the grogginess that clung to him. Echo followed more slowly, the weight of what they were about to face settling heavily in his chest. The initial excitement had faded as quickly as it came, leaving a hollow anticipation behind. The training was real now, no longer a distant promise but a harsh reality. The cold grip of inevitability settled in.

Within moments, the door opened to reveal the two mentors standing in the hallway, their expressions unreadable.

"Today marks the first day of your ascension," Gladiator said, his voice booming with authority. "You have a long road ahead of you. The only thing that will stop you now is death."

Sentinel’s gaze was piercing, calculating. "But if you survive, if you push yourselves beyond your limits, you will rise. Each of you is capable of becoming far more than what you are now. We’ve separated the training into three stages. Each stage will push you to the extreme, testing your mind, body, and spirit."

Rook exchanged a glance with Echo, an unspoken understanding passing between them. This wasn’t going to be easy. Nothing about this would be easy.

Sentinel continued, “The first stage will focus on reaching peak human standards. You are starting at a baseline of 15 for nearly every stat except Intelligence. Your goal is to push your scores to 32 in each category. Not a single one of you will succeed without intense effort.”

Echo’s mind raced as he absorbed the words. 15 in almost everything. They weren’t even close to where they needed to be. He glanced at Rook, who was already shaking off the fatigue from the previous day, a determined look on his face.

"Here’s how you’ll improve,” Gladiator spoke next, giving a firm nod, as if he were about to start laying down the laws of war. “Your Strength—how much you can lift, carry, and how effective you are with melee weapons—will require intense physical conditioning. You’ll be lifting weights, moving boulders, training with weapons. Physical power and endurance will be your first challenge."

Echo thought of the training exercises that would await them—swinging massive swords, lifting heavy iron weights, and enduring exercises designed to break you down only to rebuild you stronger.

“Dexterity will be about your agility, your reaction times,” Gladiator continued. “This means speed, precision, and quick decision-making. You will engage in battle drills that test your reflexes and reaction time. You’ll need to dodge, evade, and attack with precision.”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Rook’s brow furrowed as he processed that. “So, we’ll be moving like the wind, huh?” he muttered, but his voice held more enthusiasm than concern.

“Exactly,” Gladiator said, locking eyes with Rook. “And it’s not just about being fast. It’s about being accurate, too. You won’t survive if your blows miss or if you fail to react when it matters most.”

Sentinel, having been silent for a moment, now spoke with his quiet, almost haunting tone. “Constitution will be your ability to endure. This isn’t just about how hard you can fight. This is about how much you can endure before your body breaks down. Your ability to recover from injuries, how you handle physical strain, how you resist disease and illness. We’ll push you to the edge, and when you think you can’t go further, we’ll ask you to go further still.”

Echo winced at the thought. How many times had he been forced to stop when his body screamed for rest? It sounded like this was the kind of training that would ignore those limits altogether.

“Wisdom will be the hardest for you both,” Sentinel said with a flicker of something like amusement in his voice. “Perception and intuition are not something you can simply train by lifting weights. You will need to learn to read the world around you, the intentions of others, and understand when to act and when to hold back. The most powerful warriors are those who not only fight well but understand what is happening before it even happens.”

“Intelligence is crucial,” Gladiator added, his gaze hardening. “This is your ability to think, to plan, to analyze. You’ll be put through mental exercises—strategies, puzzles, complex decision-making scenarios. You won’t survive on just strength. You need to outthink your enemies, see moves ahead.”

The weight of that hit Echo hard. He had always relied more on his instincts than on thinking things through. The thought of having to dissect every action before making it felt foreign, but he understood it was necessary.

“Charisma,” Gladiator said, a sly smile crossing his face, “is about influencing others—your appearance, how you carry yourself, how you lead, how you command respect. You’ll need to learn how to sway people to your side, convince others of your strength before you even have to prove it.”

Rook raised an eyebrow, glancing at Echo. “So, you’re saying we’re not just training to be strong—we’re training to be leaders, to make others follow us?”

Sentinel nodded. “Exactly. Leadership is not just about being the strongest; it’s about inspiring others to follow you. Charisma is the ability to project strength, even when you have none. You will need that as you ascend.”

Echo’s heart began to race. This wasn’t just about building strength—it was about becoming a complete warrior, in body and mind. It was daunting to think of the breadth of what they had to learn and do.

“We’ve prepared everything for you,” Sentinel continued. “The training will be grueling. We will push you to your limits. When the first stage is over, you will be on the path to becoming a true warrior. But for now, your job is simple—focus on each category. Build your strength, agility, endurance, and mind. You will spend the next few weeks dedicated to this. There is no stopping once it begins.”

Echo’s eyes hardened as he looked at Rook. The time for hesitation was over. They had a goal now, something tangible to fight for.

“Understood,” Echo said, his voice steady.

Rook cracked his knuckles with a confident grin. “Let’s get started, then.”

Their mentors nodded in approval, and with a final look of assessment, they turned and left the room, leaving Echo and Rook alone with the daunting task ahead of them. The first stage had begun.